Ahaha, let's start french lessons¶
Go to IPA-Reader.com pick Lea [French] for the voice.
Then copy paste what's in between the / / and listen to get the pronounciation.
Our 'strange' sounds (phonems??):
- on /ɔ̃/,
- an /ɑ̃/,
- in /ɛ̃/
Also:
- /y/
- /ʁ/
/ɔ̃/ - 'on' sound - non, bonbon, bonjour, bonsoir¶
Like in:
| French | IPA | Arabic + transliteration | A stupid comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| non | /nɔ̃/ | لا | |
| nom | /nɔ̃/ | اسم | |
| bon | /bɔ̃/ | منيح | |
| son | /sɔ̃/ | نغمة | |
| mon | /mɔ̃/ | ـي (suffix) ? mine? | |
| bonbon | /bɔ̃.bɔ̃/ | سكّرة | |
| bonbons | /bɔ̃.bɔ̃/ | سكّرات | |
| bonjour | /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/ | صباح الخير (ṣabāḥ el-khēr) | I think we say Bonjour from dawn to ~ dusk. ṣabāḥ el-khēr is Bon matin (we don't say that in french) |
| bonsoir | /bɔ̃.swaʁ/ | الخير (masāʾ el-khēr) | From dusk to... sleeping time - then it's "bonne nuit" ☺️ |
/ɑ̃/ - 'an' - sometimes 'en' or 'emps' like in sans, dent, sang (g is silent), maman, temps, printemps¶
Like in:
| French | IPA | Arabic + transliteration | A stupid comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| sans | /sɑ̃/ | بدون (bidūn) | |
| dans | /dɑ̃/ | جوا (juwwa) | |
| dent | /dɑ̃/ | سنّ (senn) | |
| maman | /ma.mɑ̃/ | ماما (māmā) | |
| chiant | /ʃjɑ̃/ | مملّ (mimill) | not sure it's the translation :) |
Chiant is vulgar, can be playful, or rough depending on the context and tone.
Playful: tu es chiante - انتي بتجنني (inti btjannīni)
- chiant, masculine form, the final “t” is silent
- chiante, feminine form, The “t” is pronounced because of the extra -e
/ɛ̃/ - sometimes 'ein' or 'in' like in pain, rein, foin¶
Like in:
| French | IPA | Arabic + transliteration | A stupid comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| pain | /pɛ̃/ | خبز (khobz) | |
| main | /mɛ̃/ | إيد (ʾīd) | |
| rien | /ʁjɛ̃/ | ولا إشي (walā ʾishi) - nothing | |
| bien | /bjɛ | منيح (mnīḥ) - good/fine/ok/well |
Je me sens bien, I feel good: حاسّ حالي منيح (ḥāss ḥālī mnīḥ)
/y/ - 'u' like in turlututu, chapeau pointu - which mean nothing at all, but is a French childish / mocking expression¶
| French | IPA | Arabic + transliteration | A stupid comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | /ty/ | انت (inta - male), ا (inti - female) | |
| lune | /lyn/ | قمر (’amar) | |
| sur | /syʁ/ | على (ʿalā) | on top of |
| sur | /syʁ/ | عن (ʿan) | about |
| pur | /pyʁ/ | صافي (ṣāfī) | like pure, clear, plain |
/ʁ/ - 'r' like in bonjouR , touR, paRcouRs, louRd¶
| French | IPA | Arabic + transliteration | A stupid comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| rue | /ʁy/ | شارع (shāreʿ) | street |
| rouge | /ʁuʒ/ | أحمر (aḥmar - masculine), حمرا (ḥamra - feminine) | |
| rose | /ʁoz/ | زهري (zahri) | pink (color) |
| rose | /ʁoz/ | وَردة (warde) | rose (flower) |
Some basic things you already know¶
| French | IPA | Arabic + transliteration | A stupid comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bonjour | /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ/ | الخير (ṣabāḥ el-khēr) | Bon is "good", "jour" is day 😒 |
| Salut | /sa.ly/ | مرحبا (marḥabā) | Can also be used when leaving like Au revoir. |
| Au revoir | /o ʁə.vwaʁ/ | مع السلامة (maʿ as-salāme) | |
| Merci | /mɛʁ.si/ | شكراً (shukran) | |
| Merci beaucoup | /mɛʁ.si bo.ku/ | شكراً كتير (shukran ktīr) | |
| S’il vous plaît | /s‿il vu plɛ/ | لو سمحت (law samaḥt) (to a man) / لو سمحتي (law samaḥti) (to a woman) | |
| Excusez-moi - /ɛk.sky.ze mw/ | عفواً (ʿafwan) | "Excuse me" / "Pardon" - does not mean "You’re welcome" in french | |
| Pardon - /paʁ.dɔ̃/ | same as Excusez-moi (Excusez-moi is more polite than pardon) |
Let's discuss¶
Introduce yourself¶
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| Bonjour ! Je m’appelle ... | /bɔ̃.ʒuʁ ʒə ma.pɛl/ ... |
| Je suis d'origine ... | / ʒə sɥi d‿ɔ.ʁi.ʒin pa.lɛs.ti.njɛn / |
| J’habite à ... | / ʒa.bit a / |
| J'ai ... ans (25 - vingt-cinq - literally 20-5) | /ʒe vɛ̃ sɛ̃k ɑ̃/ |
| Enchantée ! (I'm pleased/Nice to meet you) | /ɑ̃.ʃɑ̃.te/ |
Questions¶
| French | IPA |
|---|---|
| Comment tu t’appelles? | /kɔ.mɑ̃ ty ta.pɛl/ |
| Tu viens d'où? | /ty vjɛ̃ du/ |
| Tu habites où? | /ty a.bit u/ |
| Comment tu vas? | /kɔ.mɑ̃ ty va/ |
You can also have some words 'inverted', it's also valid - more formal
- Comment t'appelles tu?
- D'où viens tu?
- Où habites tu?
- Comment vas-tu?
Our special (stupid) way of asking "Hey, what's up?" - مرحبا، كيفِك؟¶
Question is "Ça va?" /sa va/ and answer is "Ça va." /sa va/
It's the super fast way of asking someone 'How are things going?" and answer is like "Things are going"
"Va" comes from the verb 'aller' - to go.
Ça can translate to "that" or "this" it's pronounced /sa/ - only because you have this little thing under the C. Without this little thing, it would sounds like /ka/
TBH, sometimes you just want to be polite, you say "Ça va?" and that's all, you don't care about the answer. Again, the tone says it all.
And if you think French is stupid language: https://www.youtube.com/@loic.suberville/shorts
Verbs¶
Être (“to be”) — Present tense
| Subject | Conjugation | IPA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | suis | /ʒə sɥi/ | ||
| tu | es | /ty ɛ/ | ||
| il / elle / on | est | /il ɛ/ | /ɛl ɛ/ | /ɔ̃ ɛ/ |
| nous | sommes | /sɔm/ | ||
| vous | êtes | /ɛt/ | ||
| ils / elles | sont | /il sɔ̃/ | /ɛl sɔ̃/ |
Avoir (“to have”) — Present tense
| Subject | Conjugation | IPA | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| je | ai | /e/ | ||
| tu | as | /a/ | ||
| il / elle / on | a | /il a/ | /ɛl a/ | /ɔ̃ a/ |
| nous | avons | /a.vɔ̃/ | ||
| vous | avez | /a.ve/ | ||
| ils / elles | ont | /il ɔ̃/ | /ɛl ɔ̃/ |
Now, let me add the stupid rule:
When you say "ils ont" - they have - you do the link between the silent 's' in 'ils' and the verb 'ont' so you will indeed hear something like /il.zɔ̃/
Then compare with "ils sont" - they are - /il sɔ̃/ :)